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13th June 2011 Archive

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  • Microsoft Visual Studio to end dev and ops 'ping pong'

    The code clone war

    New Windows, new Visual Studio. But what will we find in Microsoft's popular development environment? While Microsoft recently previewed many of the new features in the next planned Visual Studio, these have, unfortunately, excluded the HTML and Windows 8 tools that are likely to appear in the final version. Even so, there is …

    Developer 13 Jun 2011, 04:00

  • Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3 MFT compact unveiled

    Hands on This week's 'world's smallest' system camera

    Last week, Sony announced to the world that it had produced the smallest APS-C interchangeable lens camera, the NEX-C3. The timing suggests the company might have got wind of something, as a couple of days earlier Panasonic had been busy showing off its latest micro four thirds (MFT) models in an exclusive press preview in Rome …

    reghardware 13 Jun 2011, 05:00

  • Toxic Plankton feeds on Android Market for two months

    Google never said it wouldn't

    The security of Google Android has once again been called into question after an academic researcher discovered 12 malicious apps hosted in the operating system's official applications market, some that had been hosted there for months and racked up hundreds of thousands of downloads. Ten of the apps reported last week by North …

    Malware 13 Jun 2011, 05:02

  • Hundreds arrested in Far Eastern online scam crackdown

    Lads From Jakarta, Taipei etc cuffed in crossborder busts

    Almost 600 people have been arrested across the Far East in co-ordinated raids against a network of online fraudsters. Arrests were made in China, Taiwan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand late last week. Indonesia has already deported 101 people back to Taiwan. The scammers mostly tricked mainland Chinese victims …

    Crime 13 Jun 2011, 08:10

  • Royston's ANPR surveillo-plan goes to ICO

    'Ought to have no place in a democratic society'

    Three civil liberties groups have complained to the information commissioner about police plans to install ANPR cameras around Royston in Hertfordshire, claiming they are unlawful. No CCTV, Privacy International and Big Brother Watch say that they fear the project might foreshadow similar work across the country. "The use of …

    Policing 13 Jun 2011, 08:22

  • Mole: iPhone 5 in testing now, on sale in September

    Dual-core revamp, anyone?

    Last week's revelation that the iOS 5 developer-only beta release contains pointers to new iPhones and iPads was followed this weekend by the next Apple smartphone is currently in "final testing". That, a "previously accurate Apple source" told website 9to5Mac, indicates a September iPhone release date. Other sources made the …

    reghardware 13 Jun 2011, 08:48

  • Chatter foreshadows major NetApp ONTAP refresh

    Update Muttering analysts hint at mighty new software

    NetApp is poised to announce a major release of its ONTAP software, if you believe the analyst buzz coming from the press, blogs and Twitter. ONTAP 8.1 was first publicly discussed back in late 2009 and it is widely thought that the integration of Spinnaker clustering and allied functionality into ONTAP is still a lengthy work …

    Storage 13 Jun 2011, 08:54

  • Three joins pack baying for Ofcom blood

    Operators square up to regulator ahead of 4G auction

    Three is the latest operator to accuse Ofcom of illegal favouritism: claiming the regulator's decision to allow spectrum refarming shouldn't have been allowed, and that a balance must be restored. The comments come in Three's response to Ofcom's consultation on next year's mega auction. The proposals within that consultation …

    Business 13 Jun 2011, 09:21

  • Nokia market share to fall below Samsung, Apple

    Downward, quarter by quarter, forecasts Nomura

    Nokia has been knocked off the top of the smartphone totem pole by Samsung, Japanese investment bank Nomura said today. Worse, Apple will overtake the Finnish phone giant in Q3, the bank forecast, Reuters reports. Both Samsung and Apple already outsell Nokia in Europe, in the overall mobile market and the smartphone arena, …

    reghardware 13 Jun 2011, 09:21

  • IMF 'suspended' World Bank links following hack attack

    Spy on the wire

    The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reportedly become the target of a concerted hack attack. The resulting breach was severe enough for the economic development agency to temporarily suspend network connections with the World Bank, as a precaution. The link was quickly restored. According to internal emails leaked to …

    Enterprise Security 13 Jun 2011, 09:28

  • iCloud Communications sues Apple for 'irreparable injury' to trademark

    Demands damages, injunctive relief and domain name

    A Phoenix, Arizona company is throwing a trademark complaint at Apple over the iCloud moniker. iCloud Communications LLC stated in its filing, courtesy of The Next Web, on 9 June that it has provided cloud computing services since 2005. It said its "software applications and customer data are hosted at and are accessed …

    Cloud Business 13 Jun 2011, 09:33

  • Acer to dump 3 million laptops onto European market

    Bargains ahoy: Supply chain a-bulge with boxes

    Expect some great deals on Acer laptops in coming weeks. The Taiwanese giant has huge amounts of unsold stock to shift and looks set to flood Europe with more than three million machines. Where will the stock be dumped and at what cost? We will we know only when they turn up in store at prices too true to be good - for rival …

    Channel Register 13 Jun 2011, 09:38

  • NEC outs spintronics content-addressable memory tech

    Holds data when power cut, Flash style

    NEC has claimed to have come up with the World's first memory cell to use new form of storage that's as quick as Ram yet as non-volatile as Flash. The memory - co-developed with Japan's Tohoku University - is based on 'spintronics' technology: kit that utilises electrons' rotational characteristics and their resulting ability …

    reghardware 13 Jun 2011, 10:11

  • Hacker crims plant fake news to discredit security researchers

    Blackhanded compliment

    Criminal hackers hacked into a specialist news outlet to plant a fabricated story falsely suggesting security researchers Mikko Hypponen and Brian Krebs had been arrested after they were supposedly caught selling stolen credit card details. The bogus "news item" on fraud-news.com this weekend claimed that Krebs and his " …

    Crime 13 Jun 2011, 10:14

  • Three London boroughs seek cloud service framework

    Contract could be used throughout London

    Westminster city council has issued a pre-tender notice for a number of cloud-based corporate services that will initially be shared with two neighbouring boroughs, but could be extended throughout London. As part of its strategic partnership with Kensington & Chelsea and Hammersmith & Fulham, Westminster has begun to look for …

    Cloud Business 13 Jun 2011, 10:26

  • Microsoft amalgamates Xbox 360 organs

    Chip fusion

    Microsoft has revealed an all-new system-on-chip (SoC) processor for Xbox 360 Slim models, which could pave the way for cheaper and more power-efficient consoles. The new SoC combines the CPU, GPU memory and I/O logic into one chip, dramatically reducing the manufacturing costs. While this provides greater efficiency with less …

    reghardware 13 Jun 2011, 10:30

  • Venice not in major peril after all - new research

    Will Pizza Express be offering refunds?

    New research led by an Australian government boffin says that Venice is not, in fact, set to disappear underwater in the near future as a result of global warming. "The survival of Venice and its lagoon is seriously questioned under the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) global sea level rise scenarios," says Dr …

    Energy 13 Jun 2011, 10:52

  • DeepZoom rises to royal occasion

    Cloud cuts projects down to size

    To celebrate a recent Royal Event you might have heard of, developers at Shoothill were asked to build an application that would add to the red-white-and-blue fun. The idea was that people could upload pictures of themselves to be stored in a giant photo montage portraying the faces of Prince William and his bride. …

    Cloud Developer 13 Jun 2011, 11:00

  • Sky combines, revamps internet telly services

    Only two gadgets per household to get Go

    Are you a Sky subscriber? If so, you'll be able to watch Sky programming on your computer, tablet or phone for free. Dubbed Sky Go, the service launches on 6 July and combines Sky Player and Sky Mobile TV. The catch: each home can only register two devices. Presumably, if you want to register more, you can cough up the £15-40 …

    reghardware 13 Jun 2011, 11:08

  • Facebooking juror heads for trial

    Status: Hoping not to go to prison

    A juror in a major drugs trial will herself go on trial this week over allegations that she used Facebook to contact a defendant in the case. Joanne Fraill, 40, is accused of swopping messages with 34-year old Jamie Sewart - who was acquitted in the early stages of the trial. Sewart is also being charged with contempt for …

    Law 13 Jun 2011, 11:10

  • Games co Epic resets passwords after hack attack

    .......d

    Games developer Epic Games has reset user passwords following the discovery of a hack attack against its websites. Criminal miscreants made off with email addresses and encrypted passwords of forum users after breaking into Epic's forum site. Epic's main web site was also hit, according to an email sent by the firm over the …

    Enterprise Security 13 Jun 2011, 11:23

  • Micro P slaps winding up petition on Micro Direct

    Manchester-based etailer not paying £70k debt to distie

    Distributor Micro Peripherals has slapped a winding up order on Manchester-based etailer Micro Direct for £70,000 in unpaid bills. The petition filed at the The Royal Courts of Justice will be heard at Manchester Registry on 1 August. "In essence, we had a strong payment history [with Micro Direct] which has deteriorated …

    Channel Register 13 Jun 2011, 11:32

  • Facebook growth slows in stalkerbase heartlands

    But slow adopters elsewhere bump up usage

    Around six million Facebook users in the US recently unplugged their lives from the dominant social network. According to data garnered by Inside Facebook Gold, the Mark Zuckerberg-run company saw its base significantly slip Stateside from 155.2 million users at the beginning of May to 149.4 million by the end of last month. …

    Music and Media 13 Jun 2011, 11:36

  • Living, biological raygun produced in lab

    Glowing mammal-jellyfish chimera-blob emits laser beam

    Beings or creatures able to emit beams of focused energy from their own living bodies: fiction, right? Comic-book, X Men stuff, right? Wrong. Boffins in America have announced that they have successfully produced laser light from living cells under laboratory conditions, paving the way - they say - for living lasers to be …

    Biology 13 Jun 2011, 11:52

  • Motorola Atrix dual-core Android smartphone

    Review Docks and slots for all occasions

    The Atrix is Motorola’s first dual-core handset and has big ambitions to be your one and only connected device. It’s available with a set of accessories that can turn it into both your laptop and media centre – a PC in your pocket. Unplugged: Motorola's Atrix Before we get to the accessories though, the basic Atrix is a …

    reghardware 13 Jun 2011, 12:00

  • Twitter goes after born-again typosquatter

    Twits need protecting from themselves

    Twitter has filed a cybersquatting complaint against the owner of the typo domain name twiter.com, seven years after it was first registered. The website at twiter.com currently bounces visitors to one of a number of dodgy competitions that try to persuade them to sign up to premium SMS text-message services. These site …

    Hosting 13 Jun 2011, 12:01

  • So, how does your economy grow?

    Stopping the swirl down the drain

    The economy is, as is being gleefully pointed out to us, gathering speed as it swirls its way towards the U-bend. No or little economic growth, unemployment still monstrously high. The glee comes of course from those who say we should be doing more to polish it up: not always simply a euphemism for spending more on whatever it …

    Small Biz 13 Jun 2011, 12:41

  • HTTP-on-steroids busts out of Google

    Strangeloop gets SPDY

    Strangeloop – a Vancouver-based outfit offering an online service for accelerating website load times – has embraced Google's SPDY project, a new application-layer protocol designed to significantly improve the speed of good ol' HTTP. The Canadian company claims that it's the first outfit to offer a commercial product to let …

    Networks 13 Jun 2011, 13:00

  • Best Buy slams brakes on UK stores amid spending freeze

    Strategy to build 80 UK stores to be shelved

    A slowdown in consumer spending looks set to derail Best Buy's expansion plans in the UK with the launch of 80 new megastores to be put on the back burner. The US retailer opened the doors to its first UK flagship store in Essex towards the end of April 2010 and has since cut the ribbon on another nine including branches in …

    Channel Register 13 Jun 2011, 13:37

  • Taxman recruits fricking tax-collecting robots

    You have 20 seconds to....complete and return VAT form 101

    Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs is unleashing an army of fricking robots to find VAT evaders and eBay traders. The robots are the web-spider variety rather than an actual RoboTaxman. But they will target "invisible tax evasion" by those trading on e-marketplaces and offering private tuition as well as tradesmen like …

    Small Biz 13 Jun 2011, 13:46

  • Turkey arrests Anonymous suspects after DDoS protest

    Ataboy

    Turkish police have arrested 32 suspected members of Anonymous, the loosely knit cracktivist collective, following hack attacks against government websites. Anonymous supporters in Turkey vented their frustration against proposed net filtering legislation by running a series of denial of service attacks against government …

    Government 13 Jun 2011, 13:57

  • Four jailed for million-pound abuse images ring

    Huge newsgroup uncovered

    Four men have been sentenced today for their parts in running a news group service used for the distribution of child abuse images. The news service, Athenanews.com, earned the four men about £2.2m - police will be applying to the courts to seize that money. Ian Frost, 35, and his civil partner Paul Rowland, 34, of Martin …

    Policing 13 Jun 2011, 14:24

  • IATA: this iPad could BRING DOWN A PLANE

    Other gadgets dangerous too, aircrew think

    For as long as the world has had portable electronic devices, the mass debate has continued: does our tech pose a threat to flight safety? With a greater number of services offering in-flight phone calls, the doubters appeared to have the upper hand. However, a new report claims our electronic gizmos could be hazardous after …

    reghardware 13 Jun 2011, 14:47

  • Jabra Rhythm smartphone headphones

    Txt Take In-ear and out there

    Daily product reviews in 140 characters... Jabra Rhythm Pictures Want our Txt Take on your gadget? Just send it in to Reg Hardware - details here.

    reghardware 13 Jun 2011, 15:00

  • Hitachi goes XYZ over next-gen storage

    Comment Two into one does go

    Two into one does go. Starting from its mid-range AMS array, Hitachi is developing a unified block and file storage platform using VSP microcode and storage function heads layered on top. This fills out the picture drawn in a previous HDS common storage platform story. There are four stages to this development, as shown on an …

    Storage 13 Jun 2011, 15:08

  • Blimp fireball disaster in Germany, Aussie pilot killed

    Airship skipper got passengers out safely

    An advertising blimp was destroyed in a ball of fire above Germany on Sunday, killing its pilot. However aircraft captain Mike Nerandzic saved his passengers by ordering them to jump clear as the ship hovered just above the ground. Reportedly the ship, an A-60 blimp operated by the Lightship Group on behalf of Goodyear, was …

    Bootnotes 13 Jun 2011, 15:12

  • LulzSec pwns pron site

    Shenanigans ensue

    Hacktivist pranksters LulzSec have struck again with the release of 26,000 email addresses and passwords from members of internet smut site Pron.com. Relying on the frequent mistake of using the same login combination on multiple sites, LulzSec called on its followers to try and use the credentials to log into Facebook, before …

    Enterprise Security 13 Jun 2011, 15:35

  • EA angers fans over Battlefield 3 pre-order exclusives

    Buy now, die less later

    EA's Battlefield 3 has caused quite a stir: stunning gameplay, jaw-dropping trailers and a never-ending spat with Activision's Modern Warfare 3 has placed the game at the top of many people's wish-lists as one of the most-anticipated releases this year. Unfortunately, EA shot itself in the foot this weekend with the …

    reghardware 13 Jun 2011, 16:21

  • Jobs confirms iCloud's murder of iWeb

    'Hey! You! Get onto my cloud'

    With the introduction of iCloud, Apple's MobileMe service is about to go the way of the buggy whip. One of its soon-to-be-obsolesced components will be the web-hosting service for sites built using Jobs & Co.'s iWeb app. Or so says none other than Apple CEO Steve Jobs, if a purported email interaction between one fanboi and …

    SaaS 13 Jun 2011, 18:07

  • Nissan car secretly shares driver data with websites

    Location, destination, speed leaked

    Electric cars manufactured by Nissan surreptitiously leak detailed information about a driver's location, speed and destination to websites accessed through the vehicle's built in RSS reader, a security blogger has found. The Nissan Leaf is a 100-percent electric car that Nissan introduced seven months ago. Among its many …

    ID 13 Jun 2011, 19:07

  • Oracle plops true live migration onto SPARC hypervisor

    From sleepy and warm to fully alive

    Oracle has brought true live migration of workloads to platforms using the SPARC T series of processors, by tweaking the VM Server for SPARC server hypervisor formerly known as logical domains – LDoms, for short. With Oracle VM Server for SPARC 2.1, a system can be carved up into as many as 128 LDoms. These LDoms can span many …

    Servers 13 Jun 2011, 19:21

  • Mac OS X Lion to include browser-only boot

    Google Chromebook redux?

    Here's an interesting bit of news for the conspiratorially minded: Apple's soon-to-be-released Mac OS X 10.7, aka Lion, will allow you to boot directly to the Safari browser, bypassing the desktop and Finder entirely. But before you go all Chrome OS all over yourself, however, thinking that Apple is about to mimic Google and …

    Operating Systems 13 Jun 2011, 20:43

  • HP: Apotheker rolls more heads

    Services needs new noggin

    More heads are rolling at Hewlett-Packard, as new CEO and former SAPer Leo Apotheker is flattening and reorganizing the IT giant so that all chiefs of customer-facing units report directly to him . Most notably, HP has announced that Ann Livermore will soon step down from her job running HP's Enterprise Services unit and …

    Financial News 13 Jun 2011, 22:21

  • Siemens fixes SCADA holes found by hacker

    Vulns were kept quiet at request of manufacturer

    Siemens has patched security vulnerabilities in its widely used Simatic S7 industrial computer system that made it possible for attackers to disrupt or sabotage operations at gas refineries, chemical plants and other critical facilities. In an advisory (PDF) issued on Friday, the Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency …

    Enterprise Security 13 Jun 2011, 23:31